Title This: Friday Night Smackdown Reaction 10-14-2011

Backstage, Sin Cara Negro unmasks Sin Cara Azul. We see the Negro put the blue mask on and is out to compete now.

Justin Gabriel vs Sin Cara/ What Happened:

Both men are athletic. Each guy has great timing, when they really focus and have a competitor like themselves. Cara has botched many times, but not tonight. Gabriel hits a nice move on the outside, but Cara hits a nice dropkick in the sternum. We get more back and forth action, until Cara goes up top and connects with a Swanton Bomb for the win.

What I Liked:

Before the match was great, as Cara steals back his identity. It finally adds some sort of wrinkle to the Cara feud. They can barely speak, but having a backstage segment makes the storyline progress even more. We get a sense of importance of the mask, which is really what the feud is all about. Hopefully their next match will actually be entertaining and not a train wreck.

What I Disliked:

The mood lighting, it's played, useless, and absolutely distracting. I also would like to see Gabriel have meaning, as he is a great athlete and could be used as a piece in another mid card match. I do like Cara at times, and the match flowed well, but it kind of felt thrown together without much of a meaning or backstory. Either way it was a good match.

Grade: B

Alberto Del Rio vs. Sheamus/ What Happened:

Sheamus gets a lot of offensive moves, including his shoulder blocks and chops to the chest early in the match. He goes up top, Ricardo distracts him, Christian ties him up on the ropes, and Del Rio picks up the victory. Six minute match.

What I Liked:

The continued feud between Sheamus and Christian, in a game of who screws over who more. I also liked the vulnerability of Sheamus, as he has basically dominated in the past few months. Christian hits the spear twice, really grounding Sheamus and showing his pain and agony.

What I Disliked:

Once again, Del Rio is involved in a match on Smackdown, gets away with a dirty win, but no sign of Cena. They have such a lackluster build the past few Pay Per Views for the WWE Championship, so they could have easily had Cena come down, and then schedule Cena and Sheamus vs. Del Rio and Christian for Raw next week. Why wouldn't you capitalize on your biggest star in the WWE right here? it makes no sense to me.